Community Crab Bank: Give Sustainable Smiles to People in Coastal Communities

 26 พ.ค. 2565 12:44 น. | อ่าน 4874
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Google+

If we ask most people “Do you like the sea?”, the answer that would be gained from most people may be “Yes” because the sea is a kind of natural resources that have been giving many things to people in the light of happiness and useful resources including being the source of food and many.

What mentioned in the first paragraph is question and answer obtained from most people. However, if we ask the same question with some groups of people who have to live with the sea, their answer may not be only “Yes” but it may be “Love” because the sea is not only temporal happiness for them like other persons but it is also a part of their life. Moreover, the sea is also considered as the important thing of their life that can be compared as a large house with food for consumption, the source of occupations and incomes as well as the important source of energy consumed in their everyday life.

It can be said that “the sea is their life.”

When the Sea is Destroyed by Pollution

From an academic document of Faculty of Fisheries Technology and Science, Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya1 it was found that coastal areas at present time that were a part of the sea were destroyed by pollution in various forms including pollution from communities (wastewater and solid waste), pollution from agriculture (aquaculture and farming), pollution from industrial factories (organism, heat, heavy metal, and Polychlorinated Biphenyls), pollution from tourism, pollution from ports and jetties, etc.

Such coastal pollution causes both long-term and short-term effects on marine ecological condition, quality of life, community’s income, and people living in coastal areas.

Coastal communities in many provinces of Thailand and southern border provinces like Pattani are also one of many areas that are affected by coastal pollution affecting to generation of main income of community.

Learning Network on Economic Aquaculture

Therefore, to reduce pollution or destruction that may affect to coastal ecosystem that is the source of food of community, related persons, including local people, government agencies, and private organizations, mutually cooperate to hold many projects and activities, especially projects and activities for solving problems on effects against incomes generation of coastal communities in Songkhla, Pattani, and Nakhon Si Thammarat, for example, PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited that is one of business organizations operating outside coastal areas initiated the project and some activities to conserve and restore natural resources and marine ecology as well as to promote well-being of people in coastal communities. This project’s title is “Ocean for Life” that has been performed under cooperation of government agencies, academies, and communities.

Activities of this project are marine debris management to provide knowledge to community regarding waste recycling, mangrove forest growing, and consciousness building making local people to realize on importance of the sea.

Recently, “Economic Aquaculture Learning Centers” under cooperation with coastal communities in Songkhla, Pattani, and Nakhon Si Thammarat, are established and they are able to culture baby crab and release to the sea over than 5,000 million baby crabs enabling local fishermen to earn more income by 60,000 baht per household per year averagely.

One mother crab may lay almost 2 million eggs and mother crabs are sent to Economic Aquaculture Center Every Day for mixing eggs.

Community Crab Bank of Pattani Province Small-Scale Association of Panare District

Beside an effort to build cooperation with all sections of national business organizations like PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited or PTTEP as shown in the above example, communities also strive to maintain value of coastal resources sustainably.

“Crab Bank” is one of efforts of coastal communities that is considered as “innovation and local wisdom to restore Thai sea of local fishermen.

For example, “Community Crab Bank” Project that has been operated by “Pattani Province Small-Scale Association of Panare District for culturing baby crabs before releasing to the sea in order to make Thai sea to have potential on seafood and increase incomes of local fishermen.

To enable one society or community to survive sustainably, such society or community must understand on their existing value or potential. Importantly, they have to learn to maintain such value or potential for giving benefits to society and community sustainably. If such learning has been supported by private organizations and government agencies consecutively, such value or potential will be able to generate other kinds of value as well. This will make people smile with sustainable happiness made by the hearts of local people. Crab Bank Project is an example reflecting such success.


1 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suwat Thanyarot, Marine and Coastal Pollution, Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Fisheries Technology and Science, Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya, 2014

Comment
SOUTHDEEPOUTLOOK.com - Thailand South Deep News

An Internal Error Has Occurred.

Error: An Internal Error Has Occurred.